Meals like this are very common here and belong to the type called tencere yemeğı or tray/pan dishes where everything is cooked together: vegetables, meat and a grain, usually rice, sometimes bulgur: ...

No, I haven't just forgotten to dot my i's: this is the Turkish letter ı as opposed to i which produces a sound like schwa or -er in mother. The pronunciation is different but what is important here ...

Being told not to put your weight on your left foot does introduce certain constraints on one's daily activities especially cooking. I fully intend to get the hang of this hopping but it isn't as easy ...